The Moon Goddess's Karma

Chapter 04 ~ The Alpha King

Backspace, backspace, backspace….

Perhaps the sentence can be improved yet.

“...Rieka. Warrior Queen of the… spirit wolves? No, wait…wolf spirits?” I frown at my laptop screen, worrying my lower lip in concentration. “The Warrior Wolf Queen? Ugh…that’s enough for today. my brain is not ‘braining’ anymore.” I close my laptop in frustration and walk out of the house to stare at the pond behind the house.

Sometimes, gazing at any kind of body of water calms me and helps me unblock my thoughts.

A fleeting thought in my mind makes me chuckle, imagining the world inside the book remaining in a frozen state while I can’t decide what to do with them. That can’t be very comfortable, especially because I tend to end scenes with cliffhangers.

I stare at the small lily pods. To be honest, the story is getting out of hand. My perfect heroine resents me, too smart for her own good to be manipulated, even by yours truly. I mean, I know I created a headstrong character, but damn it, does she have to turn her stubbornness on me too!? Is she not aware of the saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you?”

She was right, though. Her proud wolf is my way of teaching her a lesson because of her arrogance with regard to my gift, a.k.a. her spirit wolf. The ungrateful chit actually considers it a nuisance to share her mind with a sacred beast! Why the audacity!

So I gave her Rieka. A beast just as temperamental and proud who can bite, chew, and then spit her out without as much as a “How d’you do?”

Let’s see how you like being the option. To even think of bringing a wolf spirit into the pound, seriously!

I close my eyes as I take a deep breath, feeling like I’m losing grip on my sanity as I engage in a petty battle of wills with an imaginary character in a book I’m writing. If people who know me find out what I’m thinking of at the moment, I’d probably end up in a straitjacket.

I pick a dried leaf from the ground to fashion it into a tiny raft, put it gently on the water, and watch it float.

Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like I’m the one who created the characters and their worlds, though. Often, I feel like I’m just as much of a spectator as everyone else, only closer to the line of fire to be able to see in detail what is happening so I can write it down for the others to know about it, too.

I often joke that I’m just holding the symbolic pen. The characters already have the story to tell, and they merely show me their points of view, piece by piece, until the very end, so that I, like a sculptor that liberates a form from a huge lump of plain wood or a large chunk of white marble, may share it to the world.

The masterpiece is already there. One just has to find a way to show it.

Unfortunately, right now, my masterpiece is seriously pissing me off.

“Focus!” I mutter to myself. “The readers are waiting! Find a way to finish the damn book now!”

Okay, okay. Let’s see…where are we?

Astrid now has a wolf. She must now learn humility and find a way to value her spirit beast, or she will definitely lose Rieka.

But what kind of shifter romance will this be without a mate to complicate matters?

Alrighty, now we make things interesting by introducing the perfect mate.

I grin. “I’m winning this one, missy. Whether you like it or not.”

After all, what is the point of being a writer if you can’t make things go your way in your own book?

Little did I know, I spoke a little too soon and have quite forgotten the twisted logic and unfathomable determination of the young to self-destruct.

Yes, I underestimated a barely legal-aged girl who was programmed by yours truly not to take sh*t from anyone.

Not even from me.

*******

“Still not talking to you, eh?”

Astrid grits her teeth. “Nope.”

Vixen clicks her tongue in sympathy. She knows what happened because Astrid told her everything. Aside from her parents, only Vixen knows she is in grave danger of losing half of herself by the next new moon if her wolf, Rieka, refuses to tie their souls once and for all. For now, they are merely sharing a body, and the proud wolf queen is a watchful but silent consciousness in a corner of her mind.

“Prove your worth to me by the next new moon, or I will go back home to the Moon Goddess to wait for someone who actually deserves me.”

Those were her last words, and then the she-wolf went radio silent. Still, Astrid can feel judgmental eyes observing every single thing she does.

This is bad. Her parents are confident that she will gain her wolf’s trust in no time at all and that everything will be alright, but Astrid is afraid it’s not going to be so easy.

They did not see her haughty wolf. They never talked to her or heard the apathy in her voice.

Most importantly, they don’t know that Astrid is at war with herself, needing to prove her worth to be able to keep her wolf, when she wasn’t even sure she wanted one in the first place!

The pressure to keep her wolf is tremendous because of her father’s position as alpha, and really, how can she be part of a pack with no wolf of her own!?

“How do you even prove your worth? Did she say how?”

“Nope.”

“Not a hint or clue?”

“Nichts. Nada. Rien.”

“Damn.”

Astrid sighs. “Exactly my sentiments.”

Vixen frowns. “We live in a peaceful time, and there are no wars, not even slight misunderstandings between packs. We have learned to exist in harmony with humans and other shifters. You have many brothers who will die protecting the alpha’s little princess. What are you supposed to do? Jump off a cliff? Hunt a dragon’s treasure?”

Astrid laughs. “I don’t think it’s a matter of proving one’s bravery by doing extreme sports. And creating conflict with the dragon shifters that could potentially lead to war and annihilation of our pack is the opposite of being worthy so…we can rule all those out.”

Vixen sighs. “But how does one become a hero in times of peace?”

“I don’t think I need to become a hero. I just have to—”

The bell rings, signaling the end of their lunch break and the start of the next class, so they both stand up to hurry to their respective classes.

However, before they can go their separate ways, the principal’s voice echoes throughout the whole school as he requests all students to proceed to the auditorium for a special announcement.

Astrid and Vixen look at each other in confusion. What is going on?

Like sheep being herded by an invisible sheepdog, all the students pile into the auditorium.

The school welcomes both shifters and humans alike. In this modern world, it is imperative to be able to live in harmony, and so the shifters have adjusted to their surroundings and the company they keep. Most of the humans are oblivious to the supernatural world, but some fortunate ones have earned a status as secret keepers, and they know better than to reveal what they know to the less than deserving.

As soon as the door closes behind the last student, the principal clears his throat, and the whole auditorium turns silent.

“My dear students, I called you here today to share with you some wonderful news. This coming month, our school shall be host to a very special guest. Now, before I tell you who, I will have your word that you will all be on your best behavior and will not bring shame to this school because I’m telling you now your future might be at stake. Oh, and as a little incentive for you to cooperate and be a little more responsible for yourself and your fellow students, I will personally guarantee that if everything goes smoothly during this one-week visit—and I mean not one transgression or any kind of violation—I will cancel the final examinations and the need to file for clearances at the end of the year.”

The stunned silence is quickly followed by a buzz of excitement and cheers of approval.

The principal cuts the noise once more with a raised finger.

“I cannot stress it enough, dear students. This is a very important visit, and your future might as well depend on it, so I urge you to bring honor to your school. Your homeroom teachers will give you more information about the new protocols regarding this impending visit and how to behave properly in the presence of our esteemed guests.”

“Who is it, then?” Somebody bravely asks, probably one of the seniors.

Principal Greybeard clears his throat again.

“Mr. Aidan Hunter,” he tells everyone in a clear voice, sending the humans abuzz with excitement as they know him to be the richest man in the world, while to the shifters the principal sends a mindlink that leaves them all stunned.

“...the alpha king.”

*******

I stare happily at the screen, proud and excited to write about the perfect mate.

The alpha king.

The strongest shifter in existence. He who has the power to command any kind of shifter, be it wolf, bear, eagle, feline, or dragon.

It is said that in his veins run the purest blood from all kinds of shifters that were his noble ancestors.

An ordinary alpha can mindlink only his pack and fellow alphas. The principal is able to mindlink the students because the shifters of the school agreed to be in some sort of temporary pack ties with the head of the institution, but he cannot command them like an alpha can only communicate with them and share information through the provisional pack’s collective mind.

The alpha king has no such limitations. When he shifts, he does not appear as an ordinary spirit beast but as a mythical creature of his choosing. He can be a dragon, a lycan, or even the legendary phoenix.

I stare at the screen of my laptop and sigh dreamily.

Aidan Hunter.

What a magnificent being! Strong, powerful, gorgeous, honorable. I might have exaggerated in making him too perfect, but I have no regrets.

Would Astrid deserve such a paragon of greatness? Perhaps it’s too early, and she has yet to mature, but her wolf, Rieka, would be pleased with such a royal match.

A king for a queen.

If the girl doesn’t appreciate this blessing, I don’t know what else to do with her. But then again, I am more than confident she will be worshiping at my feet soon enough, thanking me for her incredible fortune as the alpha king’s mate.

I smirk. Yes, it’s only a matter of time.

And yet my smug smile disappears in the next chapter as the stubborn brat makes it her life’s mission to prove me wrong.